All the news, gossip and information about GoComics.com, its staff and the comics on the site.

Today would-be-record-breakers of all stripes will work to achieve feats never before chronicled by the authoritative Guinness World Records. Or, at least people are supposed to, anyway. Otherwise what's this novelty holiday for?

Whatever the case, we're proud to report that we know a guy who successfully did that very thing! In 2014 Big Nate creator Lincoln Peirce teamed up with school kids, librarians, teachers and more from all over America to set a Guinness World Record for the longest comic strip in the world (by a team) on NBC's Today show. How long was it? Try 1,214.07 meters (approximately 3,983' 2"). That's longer than 11 football fields! As GWR's own motto goes, that's "Officially Amazing." With the average comic strip drawn at a scale of around 5 x 17" it's a pretty huge feat.

That's not to say there haven't been other huge feats in massive comic creation, though. Indian artist Suhas Palimkar holds the individual record for longest cartoon strip with a work 191.31 meters long in 2013. In Tokyo in 2010 the Adidas Japan K.K. and Sky Comic project team created GWR's official "Largest Comic Strip," which contained 3785.35 square meters of soccer manga.

Relive the making of the strip, along with its officiated confirmation below to set a record for "Most Immediate Satisfaction in Watching a Rad Comics Thing Happen":

Celebrating 25 years of Big Nate! Creator Lincoln Peirce shares his long journey with our favorite sixth-grade Renaissance Man, along with his favorite 25 Big Nate strips from the past 25 years.

Back when I started Big Nate, I remember reading that most comic strips lasted only two or three years. And early on, it looked like Big Nate was going to be one of those that didn’t make it. I’m grateful it stuck around — not only because I can’t think of another way I’d rather make a living, but because two or three years just isn’t enough time for a strip to hit its stride. Big Nate first appeared in 1991, and when I look at the strips I did in the early and mid-nineties, I can see that I was learning on the job. I was figuring out how to write good gags, how to draw consistently, and how to construct interesting storylines day after day. Berke Breathed of Bloom County once said that comic strips have a shelf life of about ten years before they start declining, but I respectfully disagree: after doing Big Nate for ten years, I felt like I was just scratching the surface. I believed that my best days were ahead of me. I still feel that way.

Looking back on a quarter century’s worth of Big Nate is a reminder that events often unfold in ways you might not have predicted. I started the strip thinking I’d focus on Nate’s family and home life; instead, the strip is largely concerned with Nate’s school adventures. I used to feature Nate’s own comics — simple cartoon drawings on lined notebook paper — several times per month; now I don’t feature them at all. Once-prominent characters like Ellen and Jenny have faded into the background, making room for the likes of Gina, Chad, School Picture Guy, and a host of others. But the more things change, the more they remain the same: Nate is still an energetic and exasperating sixth grade boy, just as he was in 1991. And even though I’m now in my early 50’s, I still feel closely connected to the experiences of middle school. Once, while giving a talk at a local library, I was asked, “How do you stay inside the mind of an 11 year-old boy?” And my answer was: “I never left.”

When my friends at GoComics asked me to pick my Top 25 Big Nate strips, I decided to select one from each year. In this election season, making sure that every year from 1991 to 2015 was represented seemed like the democratic thing to do. This isn’t meant to be a list of the “best” 25 strips I’ve ever done. Some strips are here because they’re personal favorites, others because they mark some sort of milestone. Some are included simply because they crack me up. That’s a comic strip’s ultimate bottom line, after all: it’s got to be funny. So here they are, from 25 all the way to number 1, with comments included for the Top Ten:

Chad has become one of my favorite characters in recent years. He’s got this endearingly sunny disposition, and he’s totally guileless — a complete innocent. Contrast that with Coach John’s psycho drill sergeant persona, and this is the result.

This strip is a favorite for several reasons. First, you’ve got the good-natured teasing that is so frequent among middle school boys. Second, you have the gag in the third panel. And finally, there's the vision of Nate and Francis laughing uproariously in panel #4. Laughter is contagious.

This sounds obvious, but a really important part of cartooning is drawing funny pictures. My drawing skills are average at best, so when I make a drawing I’m 100% happy with, that’s news. I love the expression on Nate’s face in panel #4. I don’ think I can draw him any funnier than that.

Doctor Cesspool isn’t just a character in Nate’s notebook; he’s a character I invented when I was in sixth grade, and he was a big part of Big Nate during the first few years. Featuring Nate’s comics as part of the strip allowed me to write different kinds of gags. It was like doing two strips instead of one.

Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts and my boyhood hero, died in February of 2000. Later that spring, the National Cartoonists Society invited its members to include a tribute to Peanuts in our own strips. This was my effort. Charlie Brown is probably the most iconic character in the history of comic strips, so drawing him in Big Nate was a thrill and an honor.

One of the longest storylines I ever did involved Nate and his P.S. 38 classmates being temporarily relocated to Jefferson — their rival school. The climax is an epic soccer match in which Nate, the goalkeeper, makes a great save to win the game. Big Nate is a strip that relies heavily on dialogue, and having the chance to do a wordless strip was a real treat. And this storyline generated a lot of reaction from readers, who were happy to see Nate be the hero.

I'm very fond of slapstick humor and the types of pratfalls that might be possible in real life but are highly unlikely to actually occur. You could try to describe a gag like this in words; you could try to film it using actors or even animate it. But there are certain gags that just seem to work best in the comic strip format.

I think this strip succeeds because it takes something we’re all familiar with — the way teachers use emojis to rate academic performance — and then doubles down by including an image that’s one of the most memorable emojis in the history of art. Even if readers have never seen Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream, they understand the gag.

There’s nothing especially significant about this strip, but it's one of my favorite gags ever, and I think it really sums up Big Nate. Nate receives some information; he processes that information differently than anyone else would; he expresses his feelings in a way that is uniquely his own; and he gets in trouble as a result. That’s pretty much what the strip is all about.

When I was twelve years old, I bought a 25th anniversary treasury of my favorite comic strip called Peanuts Jubilee. I read it over and over, astonished by the fact that Charles Schulz had been creating strips about Charlie Brown & friends for so long. But now that I’ve logged the same amount of time with my own comic strip, I realize that 25 years isn’t very long at all. It’s gone by in the blink of an eye. And I’ve decided that there’s nothing particularly noteworthy about sitting at my drawing table and producing a comic strip each day. It’s my job, and it’s also what I love to do. The amazing part is that there are so many people out there who apparently care about Big Nate almost as much as I do. Thank you, Big Nate readers! Your devotion to the strip is what has enabled me to continue writing and drawing it for as long as I have, and it’s been my pleasure. Time will tell if I have another quarter century in me, but I look forward to keeping you entertained for many years to come.

PREORDER EPIC BIG NATE -Hundreds of cartoons, selected by Peirce and presented with his witty and informative commentary, trace the evolution of the Big Nate comic strip and its colorful cast of characters. Also included is an exclusive Q&A featuring Peirce and Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney, detailing the friendship and mutual admiration that contributed to each cartoonist’s success.

After a busy summer working tirelessly on the new GoComics experience (coming this fall!!), attending San Diego Comic-Con, and keeping hard at work with our creators back in KC, we’re excited to announce that we’re headed back to New York Comic Con!

There's plenty of surprises and goodies for fans who visit our booth (2219)! Not only will we be selling hilarious merch, we're also giving attendees a chance to preview the brand-new GoComics.com, AND we'll have FREE creator signings, daily giveaways, and much more:

Sneak peek of the NEW GoComics.com: We're so close to rolling out our new website to give you an unparalleled online comics experience. Can’t wait to see the site? Get a sneak peek and sign up as a beta tester at our booth! Bonus: We'll give you a FREE “Read Comics Every Day” lanyard!

Daily Giveaways: Toss your name into the fishbowl at our booth for a chance to win our daily featured prize! We’ll be giving away complete collections of The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes, plus an Awkward Yeti prize pack, and special Big Nate prizes to commemorate the 25th anniversary.

Epic Big Nate Birthday Bash: The Big Nate comic strip is 25! Join us to celebrate Big Nate’s birthday with creator Lincoln Peirce. We’re featuring a two-hour signing, party favors, and giving away a copy of the brand-new book, “Epic Big Nate” — an epic compilation of Peirce’s favorite cartoons from the past 25 years, plus all the details you’ve wanted to know about Big Nate and its creator. You won’t want to miss this!

All of this and more awaits you at booth 2219! Stay up-to-date by following us on Twitter and Instagram — we’ll be sharing photos from the convention floor. We hope to see you there!

Unless you were among the lucky graduates, it’s that time of year again!

Going back to school never gets easier. Students bid adieu to sleeping in, summer nights, swimming all day and staying up too late, and say hello to piles of homework, early mornings and new teachers.

But for parents, the first day of school has been long-awaited and is not-so-secretly celebrated. Parents say sayonara to “so bored” kids, sibling brawls and constantly hungry mouths, and get to enjoy some silence, serenity and much-needed alone time.

For those returning to the classroom, prepare for procrastination to come alive again.

Sarah's Scribbles by Sarah Andersen

And let’s be honest, “I have homework” is really just an excuse for watching YouTube videos for three hours.

Sarah's Scribbles by Sarah Andersen

School also starts incredibly, unnecessarily early. Don’t forget to set your alarm for the crack of dawn, even though your parents will still have to drag you — kicking and screaming — out of bed.

FoxTrot by Bill Amend

Prepare for the rigid school schedule you may have forgotten over the summer. Instead of being disciplined by mom and dad for missing curfew, it’s time to dig down deep and find the discipline within yourself to get all of that homework (and last-minute summer reading) done.

Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce

Some parts of school might be a drag, but take advantage of it. Education isn’t an option for everyone. Consider yourself lucky, and work hard this year!

On Thursday, May 26, dozens of cartoonists will meet in Memphis for the 70th annual National Cartoonists Society Reuben Awards. Before the awards ceremony that weekend, their first stop will be at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“We have invited the artists who are attending the NCS conference to sit down with patient families and draw works for them to take home, with the hopes that the experience brings them some joy despite their very difficult circumstances,” said Steve McGarry, leader of the National Cartoonists Society Foundation.

That night, guests will get the chance to mingle with the cartoonists for dinner, a silent auction and entertainment. The fundraising event is open to the public. Cartoonists attending include:

As many artists will tell you, some of their most brilliant work is inspired by love.

This certainly rings true for Big Nate, an aspiring artist himself. Nate may have many school crushes, but there’s only one thing that truly has his heart. Orange, puffy and delicious, Cheez Doodles give Nate that heart-pounding, butterflies-in-the-stomach, can’t-stay-away feeling.

There's never a dull moment with Nate Wright in the picture. Whether getting caught playing table football in the library or raiding the teachers' lounge, Nate's antics are always hilarious and detention-worthy!

Sixth grade can be a tension convention for Nate Wright. His baseball team’s just been given the lamest name in Little League history; he’s on the verge of becoming know-it-all Gina’s personal servant for a day; and Spitsy, the closest thing he has to a dog of his own, is in love with a CAT. Yup, Nate’s up to his ears in stress. Luckily, the perfect remedy is close at hand: an empty plastic soda bottle. All Nate has to do is drum it gently against his head — thunka, thunka, thunka – and the pressures of dealing with Coach John, Mrs. Godfrey and the terrifying Kim Cressly begin to fade away. Who knew an empty bottle could be so therapeutic? There’s only one stress-buster that’s better: reading Big Nate comics! So sit back, relax and enjoy this latest collection, "Thunka, Thunka, Thunka."

See how author Lincoln Peirce came up with this stress-buster in the video below:

Get a copy of “Big Nate: Thunka Thunka Thunka” here! And, read Big Nate every day on GoComics here.

As Big Nate celebrates its 25th anniversary, Universal Uclick and Big Nate editor Lucas Wetzel shares insight into the strip’s humor and history.

First Big Nate daily comic strip (1/7/91)

When Big Nate launched in newspapers on Jan. 6, 1991, I was in fifth grade — just one grade younger than the strip’s star, 11-year-old sixth-grader Nate Wright.

A quarter-century later, I’m well into my 30s, while Nate is still stirring up all kinds of sixth-grade mischief. Yet even today, Nate still seems like the wiser, older kid to me —the cool but approachable guy who isn’t afraid to risk detention, defy his teachers, or let girls know who’s the real catch of the class.

This magic suspension of time and place is a testament to the artwork, writing, imagination and humor of Big Nate’s creator, Lincoln Peirce, who entertains readers of all ages with the adventures of Big Nate and his friends. I once asked Lincoln where he got his story ideas, and he said that a lot of them come from his own memories of school. I guess it only makes sense that something so relatable and amusing would be grounded in real experiences (though I suspect imagination and creative storytelling have a lot to do with it a well).

So, to mark 25 years since Big Nate first hit newspapers, I’d like to celebrate the occasion with a list of 25 reasons we love Big Nate. Congratulations to Lincoln on this fantastic accomplishment, and here’s to (at least!) another 25 years of high jinks, hilarity and humor with Big Nate.

Detentions themselves aren't that fun, but watching how Nate lands there is. He might be the only student in P.S. 38 history to get as many as seven detentions in one day.

20) Plastic Bottle Therapy

When Nate faces a tough situation, there’s only one thing that can calm him down: The soothing “thunka, thunka, thunka” of hitting his forehead with an empty plastic bottle.

19) Spitsy

Not known as the smartest dog on the block, Spitsy nonetheless has managed to turn the cone into a comical fashion accessory.

18) Pickles

Never mind that Pickles is a cat, Spitsy has a serious crush on her. She's a pretty laidback feline.

17) Artur

The friendliest, most unflappable Belarusian in the funny pages. It’s hard to blame Jenny for liking him.

16) School Picture Guy!

A perennial favorite character who pops up in the least likely places. I’ll never forget the time School Picture Guy filled in as the DJ as at one of the school dances and ruined Nate’s chances by playing “Love Lift Us Up (Where We Belong)” at an inopportune moment.

Even if he’s an awful golfer who hands out prunes on Halloween instead of candy, Nate and Ellen’s dad is a pretty likable guy.

14) Unrequited Love

Whether it's Nate's hopeless crush on Jenny, or Kim's crush on Nate, romantic attention often goes unreturned. Such is life, especially in the sixth grade.

13) Trudy

However, not all the crushes in Big Natego unreturned. Most recently, Nate's chance encounter with a cute, friendly girl at the state fair led to a long search and eventual discovery of his soon-to-be girlfriend, Trudy. The plot thickened when she was revealed to be a seventh-grader.

12) Chad

Innocent, chubby and eminently adorable.

11) The two "G"s

Gina and Mrs. Godfrey are Nate's archrivals, and his scraps with these two have landed him in more detention hours than anyone can count.

Nate's friends and classmates may roll their eyes at his occasional overconfidence, but for a reader, it's all part of the charm. We can see Nate's blind spots and where he falls short of his bold claims, then have a laugh and cheer him on just the same.

Who could forget the adventures of Dr. Cesspool, the inept matchmaker Dan Cupid, or second-rate country singer Slim Stubby? Nate's comics show a lot of promise, although they might not quite be ready for widespread syndication.

7) School Tours

Instead of just speaking to large audiences, Big Natecreator Lincoln Peirce visits school classrooms and bookstores on every tour, giving fans a chance to connect one-on-one with their favorite author and cartoonist.

6) Hand-drawn

Aside from using Photoshop to do Sunday coloring, Lincoln Peirce still draws every BigNate strip by hand, using old-school technique to create a classic comic look.

5) Title Panels

Sunday strips include a bonus piece of artwork next to the comic’s title, drawn on lined notebook paper (to indicate a drawing by Nate). It’s like getting a peek into the character’s private sketchbook.

4) Books

Big Nate is the star of an insanely popular series of novels, activity books and comic collections. Check them out here and here.

3) Frequency

TV, movie and book series can take weeks, months or years between episodes. But new Big Nate comics post every single day, along with Big Nate: First Classfrom further back in the archives.

2) Ensemble Cast

In addition to all the names mentioned above, there are so many great characters in this strip that make Big Nate what it is. It's a great mix of a main ensemble, minor recurring characters, and others who make only brief appearances.

1) Everything!

OK, so it's a bit of a cop-out, but it was just too difficult to pick one top item. When you factor in great writing, artwork, school memories, pranks, crushes, friendships and adventures, what's not to love? You, too, can share in the magic by reading Big Nate on GoComics every single day.

The event, held at the Walt Disney Concert Hall to benefit Access Books and Los Angeles school libraries, featured presentations from all four author/cartoonists, on a stage that makes you feel – as Lincoln Peirce describes ­– “like you’re talking to a wall of people;” and with 1,500 fans in the audience, they pretty much were! Although that may seem intimidating, Stephan Pastis says, “When you’re doing it with the other [authors and cartoonists], you don’t feel as much pressure” and that it was “fun to walk out on the stage and see people at all levels.”

To hear more from Peirce, Pastis, Pilkey and Kinney about what it was like to participate in Drawn Together, listen to the full podcast.

At GoComics, we love any chance to brag on our many awesome cartoonists, not only for their unfailing ability to make us laugh every day, but also for their dedication to giving back to their communities. We’re proud to announce that GoComics’ very own Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine) and Lincoln Peirce (Big Nate), along with Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) and Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants), are participating in the Drawn Together fundraiser, which benefits Los Angeles school libraries!

Taking place in Los Angeles later this month, Drawn Together is an event featuring presentations from these four famed authors/cartoonists. Following each presentation will be a Q&A session and meet-and-greet, where fans have the opportunity to get their event tickets or posters autographed. There will also be pre-signed books for sale, as well as one-of-a-kind posters and T-shirts. Making Drawn Together truly special, ALL proceeds are donated to Access Books, a charitable organization that provides books to inner-city school libraries in the greater Los Angeles community.

Another fun fact about this event: Actress Julie Bowen (Modern Family, Happy Gilmore) will be hosting!

Drawn Together will be held on Saturday, June 20, at 1:00 pm in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, located at 111 S. Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Tickets are $42. Purchase here!

We strongly encourage anyone who will be in the area to attend and support our wonderful cartoonists in this very worthy cause!

There’s an old song by the Carter Family called “Hello, Stranger.” It’s more or less a musical greeting in which the singer tells whoever is listening: “We don’t know each other, but let’s be friends.” I’m no singer, as anyone who’s heard me can surely attest. But I like the song. And I like making friends.

So: Hello, stranger. Welcome to my blog.

As I write this, it’s early January 2015, which means that my comic strip, Big Nate, has been in print for almost exactly twenty-four years. I’m pleased and proud to have hung around that long, because cartooning is not necessarily an easy way to make a living. But even at a young age, I got the feeling that it was an occupation that would suit me. I remember reading a quote from my boyhood idol, Charles Schulz of Peanuts fame, which went something like this: To be a cartoonist, you need to be a good artist, not a great artist; and a good writer, not a great writer. And I thought to myself: “I’ve found my dream job.”

But, finding my dream job didn’t mean I practiced a lot. The drawing shown here notwithstanding, I wasn’t one of those kids who spent countless hours mastering my craft. I loved to draw, but I enjoyed plenty of other things, too – like playing sports, watching Saturday morning TV shows, and having the occasional near-death experience while climbing trees or riding bikes. So even though I identified myself as a cartoonist starting in about 2nd or 3rd grade, I always knew there were plenty of other people who could draw better than I could (as Charlie Brown’s lower body in this masterpiece clearly indicates). To be honest, I spent more time reading comics than I did drawing them. I collected a few comic books avidly – Uncle Scrooge, Batman and Spiderman were some of my favorites – but my real passion was newspaper comic strips. Peanuts was at the very top, of course, but I read ‘em all. I loved B.C., Doonesbury, Andy Capp, Tumbleweeds, Blondie and Fred Basset. Later, in high school, I began to learn about the great strips from the Golden Age of comics, like Krazy Kat, Thimble Theatre, Terry and the Pirates, Little Nemo and Polly and Her Pals. And I read plenty of comics I DIDN’T like, too. That’s a good education in its own right.

My progression as a cartoonist through my teens and early twenties was not particularly noteworthy. In high school, I drew comics savaging the teachers I didn’t care for. (Good taste prohibits me from including any of them here.) And in college, I created a weekly comic strip called Third Floor. Here’s a sample:

It was basically a Doonesbury rip-off. And this might be the worst drawing of a moose in comics history. But that’s okay. Imitating other cartoonists’ styles, either consciously or unconsciously, is a stage most everyone goes through. So is drawing stuff – like a moose – you have no clue how to draw.

Speaking of having no clue, I’d begun submitting ideas to the major syndicates by this time. They were all terrible. I’ll give myself a small amount of credit for making incremental improvements with each submission, but progress was slow until I created a comic strip based on my childhood in New Hampshire. The characters, most of them kids, were loosely modeled on friends I’d grown up with. It was, literally, a neighborhood comic strip. I named it Neighborhood Comix. What an imaginative title!

Among the cast were two brothers: Nate on the left, and Marty on the right. Does Marty’s shirt look familiar?

Here’s what happened to Neighborhood Comix. United Media liked the strip, but thought that Nate looked too much like Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. So I decided to turn the two brothers into one character. I kept Nate’s name, but made him look and act more like Marty, who had a bigger, more outrageous personality. Then I changed the name of the strip to reflect the fact that Nate was now unquestionably the main character. “Big Nate” was what I’d called my brother Jon when we were kids (long story), so I was already attached to the name. Neighborhood Comix was out. Big Nate was in.

(Quick note: This process actually took about a year and a half of blood, sweat and tears, but for brevity’s sake, I decided to limit this epic tale to one paragraph.)

Check out Nate’s long, skinny legs! Poor kid, he’s actually grown shorter and stubbier with the passage of time. (And, thank goodness, my drawing skills have improved.) Anyway, back then the strip had only a handful of characters: Nate, Dad, Ellen, Francis, Jenny, Mrs. Godfrey and Mr. Rosa. Characters who have since become important contributors – Teddy, Chad, Coach John, Artur, Gina, Mrs. Shipulski, Principal Nichols, Spitsy, Mrs. Czerwicki, School Picture Guy and others – have been added along the way. Some of them are really fun to draw and write for, and it’s impossible for me to imagine the strip without them. But Nate is the star of the show, and always will be.

When I’m asked to describe Nate, I often say that he’s his own biggest fan. He’s only eleven years old, remember, and I think most kids that age tend to be interested primarily in their own lives – not because they’re selfish or conceited, but because eleven year-old children aren’t SUPPOSED to be filled with empathy and humility and all that stuff. That’s what adulthood is for, and Nate’s definitely not an adult yet. So I don’t want to make him wise beyond his years, or endow him with traits that an eleven-year-old couldn’t possibly possess. I want him to look, act, and sound like a real kid. Real, but not ordinary. He’s a little more over-the-top than your everyday 6th grader, but after all, it’s a cartoonist’s job to exaggerate.

Soon after I started the strip, I discovered that the jokes and stories I enjoyed the most were the ones that focused on Nate’s school experiences. That wasn’t a surprise, since I’d been a high school art teacher/baseball coach for three years after finishing graduate school. So P.S. 38, the school where Nate attends 6th grade (year after year), moved to the center of the strip and stayed there. I like it that way. Schools can be very funny places. Here are a few strips I like dealing with school themes:

After 24 years of this, I have to admit that coming up with fresh, funny ideas is getting more challenging. But my routine hasn’t really changed. I begin each day by reading the comics in each of the two morning newspapers. (My favorite strip is Monty, by my friend Jim Meddick. Hilarious.) Then I go to my office, which is a three-second commute across the dining room, and get to work. I write and doodle in small sketchbooks or on Post-it notes, and that usually helps spark an idea or two.

And when the time comes to actually draw a strip, I’m still using the same supplies I started with all those years ago.

14” x 17” smooth Bristol board

panel stencil

wooden ruler

non-photo blue pencil

correcting tape

Staedtler pigment liners

I have made a couple of concessions to technology. I now color my Sunday pages in Photoshop instead of using colored pencils. And I scan my strips and upload them to some sort of magical dropbox called Cyberduck instead of sending my original drawings to the syndicate via U.S. mail. Otherwise, though, I create the strip just the way I did when I started it back in ’91. I sketch it lightly in blue pencil, then do all the drawing, lettering, and shading by hand in ink. Part of that’s due to the fact that I’m a technophobe, but mostly it’s because I just like the way my stuff looks when it’s hand-drawn. And it helps me stay connected to the strip and the characters when I draw each panel individually, rather than use the copy/paste tool to replicate the same drawing time after time.

I’ve been very fortunate. In a day and age when newspapers are struggling and many cartoonists are losing clients, my work has been able to reach an entirely new generation of readers, thanks to a series of illustrated Big Nate novels published by HarperCollins. I wrote the first one in 2009, it came out in 2010, and suddenly – without really knowing what I was doing – I was known as a children’s book author. It was kind of terrifying at first, but I’ve since become more accustomed to the idea. I go on book tours, speak at schools and bookstores, and do signings at events like BookExpo America and New York Comic Con. I’ve attended the premiere of “Big Nate: The Musical” at Adventure Theatre in Glen Echo, Maryland. I’ve even been a guest on the Today Show for taking part in a successful effort to break the world record for the longest comic strip by a team. This highly unlikely mid-career turn of events has been a real blessing for my family and me, and I’m very grateful.

But I’m still a cartoonist, first and foremost, and the comic strip is my real love. Someday soon, I’ll stop writing the Big Nate novels. A book series can’t, and shouldn’t, continue indefinitely. Comic strips, though, are forever, and I’d like to keep mine going for a long time to come. I enjoy my work. I still get a kick out of coming up with good gags and storylines. It’s still a thrill to see my work in print every day. And it’s an honor to meet and become friends with so many other cartoonists whose work I admire.

Big Nate is sometimes described as a “kids’ strip,” and, even though I write it for readers of all ages, I don’t mind that label one bit. Childhood is when most of us first become aware of cartooning, and if my strip gets some young people interested in comics, I’m all for it. One of the joys of my life is getting letters from kids telling me – sometimes in words, sometimes in pictures – that Big Nate matters to them in some way. Which brings me back to how I started this blog. These kids aren’t people I know. Chances are I’ll never meet them in person. But they’ve taken the time to write to me and tell me a little bit about themselves. Isn’t that just another way of saying “Hello, stranger”?

Take a seat and enjoy Big Nate from the beginning! Restarted here from the very first strip, Big Nate: First Class chronicles the humor and misadventures of 11-year-old Nate Wright — sixth-grade renaissance man, self-described genius, and the all-time record holder for most detentions in school history. Nate's inventive schemes and delusions of grandeur might make his classmates, teachers and family members roll their eyes, but they're a blast to read for fans of all ages.

It’s not every day that you break a world record, but Big Nate cartoonist Lincoln Peirce just did!

This morning, Peirce and HarperCollins Children’s Books broke the Guinness World Records title for the world’s longest cartoon strip by a team! Made up of Big Nate panels created by students, the 3,983-foot comic strip spanned New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza and was verified by Guinness World Records adjudicator Mike Janela.

To add even more excitement, the record was broken live on the "Today" show in New York City!

About a week ago, our GoComics team had a great time representing comics love in our hometown of Kansas City, Mo. at Planet Comicon. If you have never attended a comics convention, it's a treat to see all of the pop culture fans dressing up and celebrating. Comics creators and fans all geek out in unison, and it's truly a festival of love. Not the Woodstock kind of love… but you know what I mean.

If you haven't had the fortune to travel to San Diego, New York City or to attend one in a major city, you'll relate to Anne Hambrock. Anne lives in Kenosha, Wis., and loves comics. She loves comics so much, in fact, that she started her OWN cartooning festival and invited the best of the best cartoonists in the industry to trek to the land of cheese and Lambeau to join her.

Now, she could use a little help. She's hosting an Indiegogo online fundraising campaign to raise money to cover the basic necessities to support the event: food, water, shelter, ink, paper and snacks. Cartoonists love snacks.

The campaign is already more than halfway to its goal mark. If you can support a comic lover fulfilling their dream, would you donate to this great event? Starting at $20 (USD), there's a great tier of prizes for donors, including autographed posters, program booklets, books and more.

The GoComics team will be supporting this campaign as well! Please spread the word and considering throwing a few coins or bills in Kenosha's direction.

Via social media and their website, you can follow along on the progress as the event dates get closer. Follow the Kenosha Festival of Cartooning on Twitter, Facebook and their blog.